Garmin GPSMAP 62, 62s, and 62st announced

UPDATE: For a sneak peek at the 62 series interface, check out my hands on review of the Garmin GPSMAP 78s.

As expected, Garmin has announced a successor to their most popular handheld, the 60CSx. The new GPSMAP 62 series marries the best capabilities of the Garmin Oregon line with much of the functionality of the 60 series.

• Garmin GPSMAP 62  – base model; MSRP $349.99
• Garmin GPSMAP 62s – adds a micro-SD card slot, tri-axial electronic compass, barometric altimeter and wireless data sharing; MSRP $449.99
• Garmin GPSMAP 62st  – adds preloaded 1:100K scale US topos or (1:50K scale Canadian topos for the Canadian version); MSRP $549.99

The 62 series will have the capability to load BirdsEye aerial imagery and Garmin custom maps, giving you the ability to add USGS topos, park PDF maps and more. They also come with full paperless geocaching capabilities.

None of this is a surprise, nor is the confirmation that it will have a quad-helix antenna. The biggest news in the press release is that it will utilize the same mounting systems found on the Colorado, Dakota and Oregon series (as seen at right).

The interface seems to be the same as the just released Garmin GPSMAP 78 series. For a sneak peek, check out my first looks post on the 78s. And be sure to hit the comments for a detailed discussion.

Availability is listed as Q3, but I’m betting they try to hit the market as early in the summer as possible. Here’s the full news release:

Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN), the global leader in satellite navigation, today announced the GPSMAP 62 series of rugged outdoor handheld devices, bringing a sleek updated look, new mapping options and many technical innovations to a product line beloved by hunters, hikers and geocachers of all ages.

“The GPSMAP 60 series has been one of our most popular product lines, and the new GPSMAP 62 series improves the form and functionality to make a best-in-class device even better,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin’s vice president of worldwide sales. “Whether you’ve been using Garmin for years or are buying your first handheld, GPSMAP 62 is ideal as it combines our new breakthroughs in outdoor recreation technology with the comfortable feel of an old favorite.”

Boasting a 2.6” sunlight-readable color display, up to 20 hours of battery life and a high-sensitivity GPS receiver and quad helix antenna for unparalleled reception, the GPSMAP 62 series features three distinct waterproof models to suit various activities and interests. The basic GPSMAP 62 includes a built-in worldwide basemap with shaded relief. The GPSMAP 62s adds a 3-axis tilt-compensated electronic compass and wireless connectivity for sharing routes, tracks, waypoints and geocaches between other compatible Garmin handhelds. GPSMAP 62s also includes a barometric altimeter that tracks changes in pressure to pinpoint your precise altitude. Users can also plot barometric pressure over time, which can help keep an eye on changing weather conditions. In addition to these key features, GPSMAP 62st includes preloaded 100K topographic maps for the entire United States (or preloaded 50K topographic mapping of Canada for the Canadian version). Coverage on GPSMAP 62st includes major trails, urban and rural roads, interstates, highways, coastlines, rivers and lakes as well as national, state and local parks, forests and wilderness areas. In addition, you can search for points of interest by name or proximity to your location and view descriptive details for terrain contours, topo elevations, summits and geographical points.

To help each user maximize the mapping potential of Garmin handhelds, each model in the GPSMAP 62 series is compatible with Garmin’s subscription-based BirdsEye™ Satellite Imagery, the free online community at Garmin Connect™ as well as Garmin’s free Custom Maps utility for transferring paper or digital maps onto a compatible handheld.

Geocachers can help the environment and be more efficient by going paperless with the GPSMAP 62 series, quickly downloading cache information directly to the device. Each model stores and displays key information such as location, terrain, difficulty, hints and description, so that you don’t have to tote printouts with you. Learn more about geocaching, getting started and going paperless at www.garmin.com/geocaching.

Subscribers to BirdsEye Satellite Imagery can use BaseCamp™ software to quickly transfer high-resolution satellite images to any Garmin GPSMAP 62 device and seamlessly integrate those images into the handheld’s maps to get a true representation of the surroundings. More details can be found at www.garmin.com/birdseyesatimagery.

Customizing maps for your Garmin outdoor handheld has never been easier. Through a few simple steps, Garmin’s Custom Maps can bring the details, labels and landmarks of your existing paper or electronic map to a product in the GPSMAP 62 series, or a compatible Garmin Oregon, Dakota or Colorado. Compatible with both PC and Mac, this free utility complements the myriad of mapping products already offered for Garmin devices, including City Navigator®, NT for turn-by-turn directions on city streets, Blue Chart® g2, for marine charting, and TOPO U.S. 24K and 100K map software for incredible terrain detail (each sold separately). To walk through the steps, to find and share maps and to join discussions about Garmin Custom Maps, visit www.garmin.com/CustomMaps.

Experiences will live on long after the activity has ended, thanks to Garmin Connect (http://garminconnect.com), the free-to-join online community of more than 20 million activities for sharing, storing, analyzing and enjoying at garminconnect.com. Outdoor and fitness enthusiasts alike can share activities on Facebook and Twitter, export to Google Earth or relive the activity in table view, calendar view or on a variety of maps including our new embedded Google Earth view.

Each device in the GPSMAP 62 series has a high-sensitivity GPS receiver with HotFix, which automatically calculates and stores critical satellite information and can use that information to quickly calculate a position. The GPSMAP 62 series is made even more versatile through its universal mounting system that is compatible with the same accessories as Garmin’s Oregon, Dakota and Colorado products. Other key upgrades include photo navigation and onboard memory for downloading maps. GPSMAP 62 and GPSMAP 62st models also feature high-speed USB for faster map transfers with your computer, as well as a 3-axis tilt-compensated electronic compass, which shows the user’s heading even when standing still, without the need to hold it level. In addition to the preloaded topographic details for the entire United States, GPSMAP 62st features 500 MB of available built-in memory. GPSMAP 62 and GPSMAP 62s are ready to be customized to fit any user’s activity, thanks to 1.7 GB of onboard memory.

The GPSMAP 62 series represents the latest breakthroughs from Garmin, which has spent 20 years developing technologies and innovations to enhance users’ lives, making Garmin a household name in the automotive, aviation, marine, wireless, outdoor and fitness industries. For more about features, pricing and availability, as well as information about Garmin’s other products and services, go to www.garmin.com, www.garmin.blogs.com and http://twitter.com/jakesjournal.

Step Aside 60CSx, Here Comes the Garmin GPSMAP 62

Garmin GPSMAP 62s

Garmin’s GPSMAP 60CSx has enjoyed an almost cult-like following and for good reason.  It has been the gold standard of handheld GPS units since it came out over four years ago because of its high sensitivity SiRF chipset, quad-helix antenna, bright, easy-to-read screen and rugged waterproof design.  This has made it the obvious choice for many outdoor enthusiasts even as Garmin has introduced newer touchscreen models like the Oregon and Dakota.  I still use my 60CSx as a reference for the receiver tests I run on the Dakota, Oregon and Colorado because I trust it to perform well in just about any condition.  If you are looking for a no nonsense GPS which is particularly adept at trail mapping and backcountry hiking you don’t have to look much further.

In the four years since the 60CSx was introduced a lot has changed in Garmin’s product line.  Most of the new units have focused on higher resolution and/or touchscreen displays, improved paperless geocaching and new advanced mapping options like Custom maps and BirdsEye aerial imagery.  All of this left fans of 60CSx feeling a little left out even though the new units were never quite able to match the the accuracy of the 60CSx.

That is until last week when Garmin introduced a replacement for the 60CSx called the Garmin GPSMAP 62, actually three new waterproof GPS devices including the 62, 62s and 62st ranging in price from $350 to $550.  The main differences being the preinstalled maps of the 62st and the added altimeter, 3-axis compass, high speed USB, wireless transfer and micro SD slot on the “s” models.

Garmin GPSMAP 62s showing Oregon-style rail mount

Garmin decided to leave some aspects of the 60CSx alone, retaining the lower resolution (and hopefully easier-to-read) display, hard keys and quad-helix antenna in a package that looks like a slightly more rounded 60CSx.   While on the outside it appears similar to the older unit, much of the software and electronics is probably leveraged from the Oregon/Dakota line with obvious changes made to allow user input from buttons instead of a touchscreen.  Features like paperless geocaching, BirdsEye aerial imagery, Custom Maps, photo navigation, high speed USB, 3-axis compass and wireless transfer have been inherited from the Dakota and Oregon.  Astute readers may notice that the 62 does not appear to have a 4-pin Garmin serial connector like the GPSMAP 78,  but according to Garmin’s accessory list the GPSMAP 62s and 62st do support an external antenna port. Based on the photos Garmin decided to reuse the Oregon/Dakota/Colorado rail mount system on the GPSMAP 62.  You can see the familiar spine mount on the back of the 62s pictured to the right.

In all likelihood the GPSMAP 62 is based on the STMicroelectronics Cartesio like the Oregon, Dakota and GPSMAP 78 but it is impossible to know at this point.  The good news is that the GPSMAP 78 is looking very strong in my GPS tests, in most tests it has performed as good or better than the 60CSx.  Garmin seems to have made some software and antenna optimizations to get more out of this receiver chipset than on the Dakota and Oregon.  If you take into account the GPSMAP 62 adds a quad helix antenna Garmin could very well have a worthy 60CSx replacement for hard core users who don’t care about higher resolution touch screens.

Garmin has announced that the unit will be available in July and is available for pre-order on Amazon (GPSMAP 62: $349.99, GPSMAP 62s: $449.99, GPSMAP 62st: $549.99) .

We can’t wait to get our hands on one to put it through its paces.  The GPSMAP 62 will be covered along with the closely related GPSMAP 78 on our new GPSMAP wiki.